


The Virgin Mary Magdalene Morstan Watson

by SweetLateJuliet



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Biblical References, Gen, Meta, Religious Imagery & Symbolism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-08
Updated: 2014-04-08
Packaged: 2018-01-18 16:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1434688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetLateJuliet/pseuds/SweetLateJuliet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the newlywed Watsons exit the church, Mary is visually likened to the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. Interesting parallels between all the Marys.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Virgin Mary Magdalene Morstan Watson

VioletHuntress and others have [written](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1151134) about Sherlock as a Christ figure, especially in S3.

The Christian symbolism extends readily to Mary: Mary Morstan Watson, with her two “selves,” is like both the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. Further, Mary Magdalene is imagined in two contrasting ways, and I think  _Sherlock_ 's Mary reflects both of these.

The Watsons’ wedding was at “St. Mary’s Church”:

The scene was filmed at an actual St Mary’s: St Mary Magdalene Church in Stoke Bishop, Bristol. ([x](http://www.sherlockology.com/locations/st-marys-church))  


The Watsons and their wedding party emerge from the church and pause for pictures. Sherlock is asked to step away (by the photographer and John; Mary just watches).

> PHOTOGRAPHER: Congratulations! Okay, hold it there – I wanna get this shot of the newlyweds.
> 
> _(John and Mary stop and the bridesmaids stand behind them. Sherlock steps to Mary’s side.)_
> 
> PHOTOGRAPHER: Er, just the bride and groom, please.
> 
> _(Sherlock doesn’t move. John looks round at him.)_
> 
> JOHN: Sherlock?
> 
> SHERLOCK: Oh, sorry.
> 
> _(He walks out of shot.)_

([x](http://arianedevere.livejournal.com/65379.html))  


But apparently no one minds the other people in the picture, or the additional bridesmaids almost totally hidden by John and Mary’s bodies - hidden, that is, at “our” viewing angle, which isn’t the same as the photographer’s…

… or this is an intentional tableau. The four visible figures are posed almost exactly like the Crucifixion triptych behind them:

The entire triptych carving is visible when Sherlock stands next to Mary, but the camera moves closer after he steps away, and Christ’s upper half is out of the frame as the photographer takes his picture.

This Crucifixion carving is based on a fresco by Italian Renaissance painter Pietro Perugino at the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena de’ Pazzi:

From left to right, the figures in the fresco are: St Bernard, the Virgin Mary, Christ, Mary Magdalene, St John the Evangelist, and St Benedict (!). ([x](http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/p/perugino/christ/pazzi.html))  


In comparison to the Pazzi fresco, the St Mary’s Stoke Bishop carving omits St Bernard and St Benedict and adds an angel.

Mary Watson is standing in the position of Mary Magdalene.

John Watson is positioned as the angel worshipping Christ.

The bridesmaid and the priest, both narratively unimportant in TSoT, stand in the places of the Virgin Mary on the left and John, “the disciple whom He loved,” on the right.

It’s not a big stretch to associate these additional Christian figures with their Sherlockian namesakes: Mary as both Virgin and Magdalene, John as both angel and disciple.

**John as Worshipful Angel and Beloved Disciple**

Nothing to add, really. Just, yes, the parallels seem good.

**Mary as The Virgin**

A number of wedding traditions, like veils and white dresses, symbolize a virginal bride, so it’s easy to think of bride!Mary as  _a_ virgin figure, “innocent” and “pure.” The virgin imagery is both reinforced and subverted with Sherlock’s mind-palace-shooter Mary in HLV:

This is the only time we see Mary with her veil over her face, evoking purity as well as secrecy.

Additionally, I love the idea of Mary Morstan as “[one-in-herself](http://ynannarising.tumblr.com/post/77166959840/ancient-moon-priestesses-were-called-virgins),” an older idea of “virgin” that meant “not belonging to a man” as opposed to “chaste.” That’s very much the confident, independent Mary Morstan I saw in TEH and TSoT.

The Virgin Mary was pregnant before she married, just like Mary Watson.

And the Virgin Mary’s baby wasn’t fathered by her betrothed. Based on Mary Watson’s [reaction](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1260208) to learning of her pregnancy, our Mary might share even this with the Virgin.

**Mary as Magdalene**

We can probably rule out immaculate conception for Mary Watson’s child. So if she’s newly pregnant by not-her-husband, she looks like a sinful woman.

From the Middle Ages through Andrew Lloyd Webber’s _Jesus Christ Superstar_ , Mary Magdalene has been portrayed in Western art and literature as a repentant sinner and prostitute.

This characterization is a conflation of three biblical women:

  * Mary of Magdala, a leader of the early church,

  * Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair,

  * and an unnamed sinner in the Gospel of Luke who also washed Jesus’ feet with her hair.




Pope Gregory I formalized this “composite Magdalene” in a sermon in 591. The Catholic Church didn’t officially retract the view of Mary Magdalene as a penitent whore until 1969. (summary [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/history/marymagdalene.shtml))

What the Bible  _actually_ says about Mary Magdalene is that Jesus cured her of seven demons and she traveled with him as he preached. She was present at the Crucifixion, staying with Jesus after all the disciples except John the Beloved had fled, and she was the first person to see Jesus after the Resurrection.

Likewise, Mary Watson is present at Sherlock’s death

and she’s the first person he sees* when he begins to regain consciousness after flatlining.

However dissimilar her motives and actions look now, her  _presence_ at these events echoes Mary Magdalene with Jesus.

*John says that “Mary” is the first word Sherlock said when he woke up; it’s not clear whether John was present for this. Mary is the first person we  see  Sherlock seeing.

**What Can We Deduce?**

The Virgin Mary’s future husband Joseph didn’t dismiss her when he learned of her pregnancy, even though he would have been within his legal and moral rights to do so. A straightforward parallel might mean that BBC John will forgive and “keep” Mary even if her child isn’t his. A less literal interpretation could be that there will turn out to be a “good” (sympathetic, forgivable) reason for one or more of Mary’s transgressions, like shooting Sherlock or hiding her past.

Like the composite Magdalene, BBC Mary is an amalgam of ACD’s Mary Morstan with other characteristics. (Perhaps even other ACD characters: Sebastian Moran, Birdy Edwards, and Neville St Clair, to name a few possibilities.) The “true” Mary Magdalene was an important follower and supporter of Jesus. This might suggest that BBC Mary truly is Sherlock’s friend despite the stories that seem to condemn her.

Got a different interpretation? I’m listening! [It’s all fine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkje4FiH9Qc).


End file.
